The expression of the 67-kD laminin receptor (67LR) and the 31-kD human laminin-binding protein (HLBP31), two proteins involved in cancer cell laminin interaction, was evaluated on 30 ovarian cancer specimens. Expression of the 67LR was increased (up to 2.5-fold, in 87% of the patients), while HLBP31 expression was downregulated in cancer cells compared with the normal tissue, as detected by northern blotting and immunohistochemistry. The immunohistochemical study demonstrated that the 67LR was significantly overexpressed (P < 0.05) in the group of patients whose cytoreductive surgery was suboptimal, and those with poor clinical outcome. No correlation was observed between HLBP31 expression and clinicopathological features. Increased expression of the 67LR appears to correlate with the invasive phenotype of ovarian cancer cells and suggests a role of the latter in ovarian cancer invasion. [less ▲]